North Korea win first Olympic medal in eight years with table tennis silver
The Peninsula
Paris:North Korea won their first Olympic medal in eight years on Tuesday in Paris but had to settle for silver after defeat in mixed doubles to table...
Paris: North Korea won their first Olympic medal in eight years on Tuesday in Paris but had to settle for silver after defeat in mixed-doubles to table tennis superpower China.
China arrived in Paris as the world's undisputed table tennis kings, having won 32 of the 37 available golds since it became an Olympic sport.
They failed to claim the mixed doubles title when it was introduced three years ago in Tokyo but Wang Chuqin and Sun Yingsha set the record straight with an 11-6, 7-11, 11-8, 11-5, 7-11, 11-8 win over North Korea's Ri Jong Sik and Kim Kum Yong.
It was the first gold of what China hope will be a clean sweep of table tennis in the French capital.
For North Korea, they skipped the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 over coronavirus concerns.